THE MAFIA’S MISTAKEN BRIDE

Xavier’s POV

There was a reason why I never forgot or forgave Andre.

Her eyes.

Those brown eyes which have haunted my dreams for months with mocking expressions and a sense of defeat.

It fills me with rage and humiliation.

But I can’t seem to figure out why the shade of her eyes is different now. Her eyes were always twinkling with mocking amusement that I can never forget. Aside from that, they were always cold with hatred making me wonder just what she wants in a man that I don’t have.

But the woman before me has a different countenance that is making confusion cloud my mind. There is no amusement whatsoever or cold expression, all I can see is an angry flush.

Andre would never flush for me. She hates me with passion.

Actually, I thought we were beginning to get along well before the wedding but her fleeing proved me wrong. It was all a facade to make me believe she was interested in the marriage as much as I wanted it.

She hated me and that made me hate her in return. I hated her guts too because she would do anything to piss me off.

Even though I was also having second thoughts about the marriage, she intrigued me but my full-blown desire for revenge took over and I wanted it.

The marriage.

I wave away every thought of her and concentrate on the document before me. I am supposed to sign this before I get to the club. After reading the whole content of the document, I sign it and drop the phone with a sigh.

I shut my eyes enjoying the silence when I remember how she was wailing a few minutes ago like someone in mourning.

Opening my eyes, I begin to wonder if this is a result of how much hatred she is harboring for me or if this is something else.

She looked pathetic.

Unable to contain her continuous tears, I sent her home. Mathew is escorting her home in the other car alongside two other bodyguards.

Before I can think of the further enigmatic woman I am about to be married to, the car comes to a halt, my eyes shifting to the entrance of the illuminated reserved club.

The Mafia family owns this club. No one is allowed entrance except people in the family or those related to the family.

The club is always bustling with life even though it is not as condensed as many of the clubs in New York. Everyone in here has one thing or the other that connects them with the family.

We come here once every month but I have business here which is why I am here tonight.

In normal circumstances, I would have had one of my boys deliver this to Mr Russell but I want to come myself for a reason.

I step out of the car before Julius can get the door for me. I adjust my suit and signal to Julius to get the briefcase before trudging towards the entrance of the club.

There are two huge bodyguards right outside but I am amazed not to find them familiar. I know the two bodyguards here to be Pual and Peter and I wonder who changed them.

Waving my mind away, jumping to the conclusion that Paul and Peter must have done something to warrant them being dismissed, I enter the club. Just before I can venture further into the club, my phone begins to ring. I fish it out as my eyes scan the club, taking note of the changes in the atmosphere.

Antonio, my third-in-coomand is calling.

I pick up the call immediately to hear a scream, making me take the phone away for a while before staring at the screen to be sure it is Antonio calling me indeed.

“Boss, get out of that place now!” Another piercing scream follows, making me peel my eyes off the phone screen and glance around. When I turn back to see Julius still behind me, he seems to have noticed something too as he shifts his gaze from one corner to another.

Without hesitation or further question, I disconnect the call and begin to stroll back out of the club the way we came.

Ignoring the numerous questions running through my head, I drop my phone back in my pants pocket, trying so hard to calm down and find out what the hell is happening when I get home.

When we got to the entrance, there was pandemonium and the two new strange bodyguards were with a gun, pointing its direction towards me and Julius.

“Shit!” I curse under my breath as I halt in my track, thinking of what to do and how to escape this.

This is a trap.

“Boss, take a step back”, I hear Julius whisper behind me despite the loud screaming from every corner.

I trust him. Even though I know taking a step back might irk these two men watching me with blood-filled eyes and that will make them shoot at me, I take a step back and a shot rings out in the air.

It wasn’t directed at me.

The shot wasn’t from the men in front of me.

They seem surprised too because their attention shifts from me and Julius grabs me. I find myself running alongside him as the club is suddenly plunged into complete darkness.

I should be worried about our safety but I am more worried about the package in the briefcase.

In the darkness, I hear feet following and my heart thumps wildly at the remembrance of a similar incident that happened a few years back, claiming the life of the most important member of our group.

It was a trap and we fell for it but we have been more careful ever since that incident.

Now it is happening again and this time, it is a trap set for me alone.

I wonder who is behind this time.

“Boss, hold my hands”, Julius barks at me. I can’t see him but within seconds, his hands touch me from above. I hold out to him immediately as the sound of the feet behind us seems to be getting closer.

He plunges me up and I find myself over a wall. Suddenly, the light comes back and I see we are outside the club already but the next problem is how to get our car which is parked in front of the club.

I try to bring out my phone as we run so I can call Mathew to pick us up when a car halts in front of us.

“Get in!” the stranger shouts at us, making me raise a brow.

Julius opens the door for me and I turn to him with a questioning brow.

He nods at me to trust him. I do trust him but in situations like this, it is hard to tell who is for or against you.

“He is my brother”, he mentions, making me avert my gaze to the so-called man he calls brother. There is no iota of resemblance between them and I wonder if he is a biological brother or not.

Before I can ask him the next question on my mind, another shot rings out and another and another, making my heart skip a beat and waking up my alertness.

I push the questions away and take a step to enter the open car when I feel a sharp pain in my arm.

Wetness followed.

I whirl around to check what the hell is happening but I come face to face with Julius’s wide eyes as he stares at my shoulder in complete horror.

I need no one to tell me what has just happened as Julius pushes me into the car. He gets in beside me and the car roars to life as another shot shatters the glass of the car from behind.